Kevin Ryan has booked a co-starring role in the six-hour miniseries that follows a defiant and radical group of young men -- Sam Adams, John Adams, Paul Revere, John Hancock and Joseph Warren -- as they band together in secrecy to change the course of history and make America a nation.

Calling themselves the Sons of Liberty, they light the spark that ignited a revolution. Though their names have become American legend, this group of young rebels didn’t start off as noble patriots in powdered wigs. They were a new American generation of young men from varied backgrounds, struggling to find purpose in their lives. They were looking for equality, but they found something greater: Independence.

Ryan will play British officer John Pitcairn, Gen. Thomas Gage's (Marton Csokas) No. 2. Ryan starred on BBC America's Copper; he has been hailed has Ireland's newest emerging star and voted one of Ireland's sexiest men for two consecutive years. The actor is currently recurring on NBC's pirate drama Crossbones. He's repped by Gersh, Mosaic, the U.K.'s 42 Management and attorney David Matlof.

He joins a cast that includes Ben Barnes as Sam Adams; Ryan Eggold as Warren, a doctor; Michael Raymond-James as Paul Revere; Rafe Spall as John Hancock; Henry Thomas as John Adams; Emily Berrington as Margaret Gage; and Dean Norris as Benjamin Franklin.

Hans Zimmer will create the title theme for the miniseries, which begins production in the summer. Sons of Liberty hails from A+ E Studios and Stephen David Entertainment, the production company behind History's The Men Who Built America, its eight-hour mini that focused on John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie and J.P. Morgan.

Kari Skogland (Boardwalk Empire, Vikings) will direct. Stephen David and David C. White penned the series. Russ McCarroll and Elaine Frontain Bryant will exec produce for History, while David and Matthew Gross will EP for Stephen David Entertainment.